At the Mass preceding our fantastic block party this summer, Archbishop Hebda, who celebrated the Mass and joined us for some food and fellowship afterwards, was very complimentary about a number of things going on at our parish. One thing in particular that caught his attention was the high caliber of our liturgical ministers: our altar servers, lectors, sacristans, eucharistic ministers, greeters, and ushers, who all give generously of their time to serve in the liturgy.

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we all benefit greatly from the efforts of those who serve in the liturgy. Our greeters are the first “faces” of the parish, and their welcoming nature has certainly been a contributing factor to the growth we have experienced in recent years. Our ushers are the trustworthy and friendly people that take up the collections that sustain the operations of the parish. Our sacristans prepare the church to be filled with the presence of God. Our lectors nourish us with their clear and prayerful proclamation of the living Word of God. Our eucharistic ministers give us the very Body and Blood of Christ. We all experience the fruits of the “yes” all of these fine people have given to serve God and our parish.

As our parish grows, we recognize the need for our liturgical ministries to grow along with it. As such, our staff and clergy have been examining how best to move forward in the areas of scheduling, training, and role definition. No two parishes will approach these areas completely alike, although there are general concepts and best practices that we can adapt to best serve the liturgies we celebrate together.

We have welcomed a number of new faces into all areas of liturgical ministry. As our rosters grow, scheduling needs have changed. As such, we have adjusted our scheduling practices to match these needs. We are also now able to divide tasks among more people, and hope to continue moving in this direction. For example, we are moving more and more toward separating roles. For a number of years, many diligent folks have doubled or even tripled their service, filling in simultaneously as lector, altar server, and eucharistic minister, when needed. As we welcome more and more people into liturgical ministry, we hope to transition to a place where those serving can focus on one role at a given mass.

However, we’re simply not all the way there yet. In order to accomplish this goal, we simply must pray that even more parishioners would take up God’s call to serve Him in the sacred liturgy. Perhaps you might be new to the parish, and looking for ways to get to know people. What better way to forge friendships than to join together in service?! Perhaps you might have noticed the occasional Mass where something didn’t go as planned. In that moment, did you feel God’s call to help us out and be a part of the solution? Perhaps you’ve shared the Archbishop’s observation that we are so greatly blessed with such fantastic liturgical ministers already, and wish to be numbered alongside them. I would encourage each and every one of us to prayerfully consider whether God is calling us to serve in any of the aforementioned ministries. If so, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at the parish office. I look forward to working with you, and helping you answer God’s call!

On Saturday, November 3rd, we will have a training session for all liturgical ministers. Our session will begin at 9:30 AM, and conclude by 11:00 AM. We hope to see everyone who may be interested in serving in liturgical ministries, both veteran and new!